At 5 AM in the flaming morning AEDT, SBS leaked out their Song for Europe 2024. They do, of course, have a Eurovision pedigree by finishing second in Australia Decides in 2019 with ” 2000 and Whatever”. It also now seems pretty certain that SBS have abandoned the national final concept, presumably because they can find no bugger to fund it!
To quote SBS’ press release
Vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player and producer Michael Ross have been performing as Electric Fields since 2015. The pair’s eclectic music blends soulful pop and up-beat electronica, and the pair have become known for their lively and visually vibrant live performance.
Fielding grew up in the remote community of Mimili in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands. Mimili is about a 13-hour drive northeast of Adelaide. Ross grew up in Logan, Queensland before moving to South Australia. The duo are based in Adelaide.
The incorporation of the Yankunytjatjara language into Electric Fields’ songwriting has become a defining feature of their music.
The song they will take to the competition in Malmö in May is called One Mikali, which loosely translates to One Blood. Speaking in Yankunytjatjara, Fielding told NITV the name captures the song’s unifying message.
“The song is about all of us being together as one,” he said.
“Aboriginal culture has a way of dealing with situations and it’ll be nice for this country and the globe to learn that way of doing it. You don’t have to jump on anybody to get what you want. You can actually dialogue it out.”
Still, now they have grasped their chance, to the delight of some Eurovision fans out there and to the dismay of others, can they get a decent result? – Have a listen and see what you think!!